Tie for fence posts



Feb. 15, 1955 I c w 2,702,182

TIE FOR FENCE POSTS Filed Sept. 30, 1952 INVENTOR.

ATTOZNE Y5 n ed S ates Pa f TIE FOR FENCE POSTS Edward C. Wenger, Monticello, Iowa Application September 30, 1952, Serial No. 312,237

1 Claim. (Cl. 256-48) This invention relates to a tie adapted to be applied to a conventional fence post, and more particularly, has reference to a tie so designed as to be characterized by its ease of application, and its adaptability for holding a fence wire securely to the post.

Heretofore, many efforts have been made to provide for the quick and easy application of a fence wire to a fence post, in a manner to hold the fence wire in proper position upon the post. However, in many instances it is still not possible to secure the fence wire to the post with desired strength, while at the same time still assuring that the fence wire will have certain flexibility relative to the post.

It will be understood that a certain amount of flexibility is desired when a fence wire is connected to a post, since the wire tends to contract and expand under changing weather conditions. At the same time, it is also desired that a fence wire be held securely to the post, without possibility of sagging or becoming accidentally disconnected.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a generally improved tie for fence posts, which will be so designed as to be applicable to a fence post and a wire to be supported upon the post with a maximum of ease, the tie constituting the present invention being particularly shaped to permit its being secured in position by use of a simple tool.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tie of the type stated which can be formed from a short length of conventional, readily bendable wire material.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tie which is particularly designed for application to the well known T-post, which post is becoming increasingly popular as a post designed to permit the speedy erection of wire fences.

Still another object is to provide a tie as described which, when mounted upon a post of the type stated will be formed with a pair of eyes aligned transversely of the tie and disposed forwardly of the web of the post, said eyes being adapted to receive the wire to be supported, in a manner whereby the eyes will hold the wire securely against the post, while still permitting lengthwise movement of the wire arising due to the contracting and expanding tendency of said wire.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claim appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a fragmentary portion of a fence post, a tie formed in accordance with the present invention being illustrated in perspective as it appears when applied to said post, a fence wire engaged by the tie also being shown fragmentarily and in perspective;

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of a tie formed in accordance with the present invention, the full lines showing portions of the tie before the tie is completely formed, and the dotted lines showing the tie as it appears when formed to its completed shape, the fence post being shown in dotted lines;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view, taken from the right in Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral has been applied generally to a fence post. In

the illustrated example of the invention, the fence post is of the T-type, the post having a web 12 integral or gttherwise made rigid with a longitudinal reinforcing rib Formed upon the web 12, at locations spaced longitudinally thereof, are cleats 16.

fence post such as that shown in the drawing is adapted to support any of various types of fences, as for example, a barbed wire fence having one or more strands of wire 18 provided with spaced barbs 20.

The tie constituting the present invention is adapted to be associated with a post and fence wire such as those shown, and has been designated by the reference numeral 22. The tie is formed from a single length of readily bendable wire material, and said wire material is bent, intermediate its ends, to form a relatively short, curved bight 24 that straddles the rear or outer edge of the reinforcing rib 14.

The bight 24 merges, at its opposite ends, into legs 26, said legs diverging forwardly from the bight so as to extend along opposite sides of the reinforcing rib 14. The free ends of the legs 26 are projected beyond the respective side edges of the web 12, and are bent upwardly to define arms 28 (Figure 3). The arms 28 lie in spaced parallel relation and are disposed at right angles to the plane of the legs 26 and bight 24.

At their upper ends, the upwardly extended arms 28 merge into forwardly projected end portions or fingers 30, which are spaced above and in parallelism with the plane of the legs 26 and bight 24 to define pads for engagement by a wire tie applying tool.

The tie, as shown in full lines in Figures 2 and 3, is so formed, initially, as to be readily extendable into underlying relation to a fence wire 18. Thereafter, by use of a convenient tool, the portions 28, 30 are bent backwardly as shown in dotted lines in Figures 2 and 3. The portion 28 is thus formed into an eye portion 32, said eye portion 32 being extended over the wire 18 and being extended rearwardly along its associated leg 26, the eye portion being extended into converging relation to said leg so as to close the eye and hold the wire 18 securely therein.

The free end of the eye portion 32 merges into an end portion 34, said end portion 34 being formed from the portion 30, and being bent forwardly to round off the free end of the eye portion 32.

This completes the construction of the tie 22, and as will be noted, the tie is formed substantially to a U shape, with the free ends of the legs of the tie being projected beyond the web of the fence post and having eyes aligned transversely of said legs. The transversely aligned eyes receive the fence wire 18, allowing the fence Wire to have a certain amount of flexibility at the point of its connection to the fence post. At the same time, the wire is held securely to the post, and will be engaged by the tie 22 in such a manner as to be incapable of sagging. Any tendency on the part of the fence wire to sag will simply cause the bight portion 24 of the tie to bind against the reinforcing rib 14, thereby to prevent the tie 22 from moving downwardly along the fence post. In this way, sagging is effectively precluded.

Additionally, it is thought to be an important characteristic of the invention that the tie can be readily formed from inexpensive material, such as short, scrap lengths of wire. At the same time, the tie is applied to a fence post with ease and speed, thus to permit erection of a fence in a minimum amount of time.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A wire tie comprising a body having a horizontally disposed bight portion, legs carried by the bight portion and diverging as they recede from the bight portion, arms carried bythelegs and extending vertically upwardly therefrom in spaced parallel relation remote from the bight portion, and spaced parallel fingers carried by the arms' and extendingihorizontally outwardly therefrom remote from and in a direction opposite the legs to define pads for engagement by a wire the applying tool in bending the arms about a wire strand. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Thomson Sept. 20, 1927 Paque June 3, 1930 Peters July 14, 1931 Williams July 26, 1932 

